Tails goes to Gregory House
by webhead112233
Summary: No one, nowhere, is safe from Gegory House. It is omni-present through all possible worlds. Miles Tails Prower is next.
1. Night 1

_Where am I? I don't remember landing the X Tornado, I just found myself walking through the forest. Something just doesn't feel right._

Tails pushed through the doors into the building. He figured he'd just ask where he was and if anyone had seen where he'd landed his plane. Tails didn't like his situation; his memory was perfect, and yet he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there.

"Hello friend, would you like a room?" Tails jumped in surprise at the voice after so long in silence. He looked around before finding what looked like a rat. He was about Tails' height, and carried a keyring and candle.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I frightened you." The rat said, "My name is Gregory. I'm in charge here at Gregory House." "Oh, so this is a hotel of some kind?" Tails asked. Gregory nodded, "That's right. One of the best in fact. Now, to repeat my earlier question, would you like a room?"

"No thank you, I was just wondering if you could tell me where I am and if you saw where I landed, or probably crashed, my plane." Tails said.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen any planes this night. Do you not remember where you left it?" Gregory asked. "No, I can't really remember much of anything that's happened tonight." Tails said.

"Oh my! Well, if that's the case, then you should probably get a room for now. Some rest will do you well. Who knows? Maybe you'll even remember what brought you here." Gregory said.

Tails thought for a moment and decided that Gregory was right. "Right this way friend." Gregory said before Tails even said that he agreed.

"I've never seen your species before." Tails said as Gregory led him down the hall. "I've never seen a fox with two tails, lots of strange people find themselves here, it seems." Gregory said with a chuckle. There was something about the rats laugh that sent a chill up Tails' spine.

As Gregory showed Tails down the hall, Tails suddenly became aware of a strange, frantic murmuring coming from one of the doors. Tails couldn't help but approach the door, knowing that something wasn't right.

Tails knocked on the door, and in a blur of movement, the door swung open and Tails was pulled inside. Tails was met with a horrifying glare from bloodshot eyes. The figure spoke in a raspy, exhausted voice.

"If your here to kill me, go ahead, but don't you dare mess with my numbers."


	2. Night 2

_I have no idea what happened to drive this mare mad, but I believe she may have been trying to warn me, trying to tell what happened, so it wouldn't happen to me._

When Tails was pulled into the room, he was forced to accept two things, one after the other. The first was that alicorns were, in fact, a species of equine that existed. The second was that alicorns could look as gray and crazed as the mare in front of him did.

Her eyes were bloodshot; it was the only color visible on her otherwise grayed out body. Her room was filled, floor to ceiling, with countless papers. Spreadsheets, maps, pictures of strange creatures, and equations. Some of the writing was eligible, but some of it was written in perfect form.

"If your here to kill me, go ahead, but don't you dare mess with my numbers." The alicorn said. Several books, pencils, and other random objects were engulfed in a gray aura and levitated at Tails threateningly. "Its okay, I'm not here to disturb your... numbers." Tails said, backing towards the door.

"Y-your the new guest aren't you? Good! You'll keep beady eyes busy while I finish up my plans. I'm almost finished, I just can't get all the numbers to balance." The alicorn turned to one of the thousands of papers, magically running a pencil over it to try and correct her mistakes.

Tails looked at the paper. "You forgot to carry the three. And you used 3.16 for pie instead of 3.14." Tails pointed out, along with a few other mathematical problems. The alicorn looked from the papers to Tails, back to the papers, then back to Tails. At first, Tails was afraid he'd offended her, then her lips pulled into a cracked grin.

"You do numbers to! This is fantastic! We can work together to get the guests out. We'll have to adjust the formula for you, but with the two of us, it'll be a cinch! What's your name?" "My name is Miles, but people call me Tails." Tails said, growing more confused by the minute.

"I look forward to working with you Tails. My name is... hm, I can't seem to remember. That happens sometimes, I think I wrote it down... somewhere." "Tails?" The alicorn tensed at Gregory's voice.

"Can't let him figure out whats going on. Don't worry, I'll be in touch, just pretend you don't know what's going on." The alicorn instructed.

Tails wouldn't need to pretend, he really didn't understand what was happening. When Gregory opened the door, the alicorn let out a feral hiss and pounced on Tails, pretending to attack him.

"Don't touch my numbers!" The alicorn screamed, tackling Tails into the wall, "I need my numbers to escape! Don't touch them!"

Gregory pulled Tails out the door and slammed the alicorn's door shut. "I'm so sorry about that my friend. She hasn't been herself in quite awhile. She used to be a princess you know, but after she lost her battle, she never really realized that she'd lost. She seems to think that she's still fighting the good fight, when in actuality, the fight has been over for quite some time."

Gregory gave Tails a sly smile, "I wonder how your battle will turn out. Only time will tell I suppose." Gregory gave another chuckle and continued to show Tails to his room. These words got Tails thinking, but now as much as the words that the alicorn had whispered in his ear before Gregory pulled him out of the room.

"Tell Nekozombie that I miss him."


	3. Night 3

_I have a horrible feeling, but I can't tell why. I think there's more things wrong with this place than the mad mare._

Gregory opened the door to Tails' room. The inside looked like an ordinary hotel room, but something about it didn't sit right with Tails. The logical side of his brain told him that everything was fine, but some ancient instinct told him to run.

The logical half won out, and Tails entered the room. There was a crumpled up piece of paper on the floor. Tails went to see what it was, but Gregory snatched it before he could.

"Oh, don't mind that my friend. Just some useless clutter left behind by this room's former inhabitant." Gregory said. Tails' mind flashed back to the mad mare; it was just a feeling though. Then he remembered her request.

"Um, do you know who Nekozombie is?" Tails asked. Gregory's eyes widened slightly in suspicion, but then his grin returned. "Nekozombie is the guessed in the room next to yours. I would advise against contacting him though, he doesn't play well with others. He's had a hard life."

Gregory explained how Nekozombie's face had been sewn shut like a patchwork quilt. The story horrified Tails, and Gregory grinned at his expression. "Oh, I'm sure nothing like that will happen to you my friend. Just be sure to keep your door locked at night."

Tails walked over and examined the bed. It seemed relatively normal, but there seemed to be something under the pillow. Reaching underneath it, Tails found another piece of crumpled paper.

"What's that?" Gregory asked, "Have you found something?" There was something in Gregory's voice that Tails didn't trust. "No, nothing at all." Tails lied, unsure why he was trying to protect a piece of trash.

Gregory expression showed that he didn't believe Tails, but he smiled all the same. "Very well. You should get some sleep my friend." Gregory exited the room, closing the door behind him. "I hope you enjoy your stay."

It must have been Tails imagination, but he could've sworn he heard Gregory say, "Forever." Followed by that laugh of his.


	4. Night 4

_I knew there was something off about this place from the start, but I still don't know who I can really trust._

Tails uncrumpled the piece of paper. On it were several drawings of equine creatures with different names scribbled on them. _It must have belonged to the mad mare, _Tails thought.

Looking closer, Tails noticed a single sentence that was repeated across the paper on both sides, the handwriting getting sloppier and sloppier until it was unreadable. Looking at one that was legible, Tails read the sentence: My name is Twilight Sparkle.

Tails could only guess that 'Twilight' was the mad mare's name. Tails hesitantly stepped outside his room and walked to the door next to his. The door looked more like the door to a vault than the door to a hotel bedroom. Tails reached out and knocked slowly.

There was a low grumbling inside, like an animal dying. "So your the new guest huh?" A quiet, weak voice said. "Y-yes, I just arrived here. I'll be leaving in the morning." Tails said. This was met with a sad chuckled, "Sure you will."

Tails was nervous enough about speaking to the half-dead feline, and his words weren't helping. "I... met an alicorn, I think her name is Twilight. She asked me to tell you that she missed you."

Nekozombie made a pained sound, like he was trying to walk on an injured limb. "I... I miss her to." "What happened to her?" Tails asked.

"The same thing that happened to the rest of them. The same thing that'll happen to you if you don't play your cards right," Nekozombie said, "The House got to her."

"What do you mean?" Tails questioned, growing more worried every second. "This house doesn't let guests leave. They try to make you give up on going back to the real world. You do know that your not in the real world right?"

This was news to Tails. "If I'm not in the real world, than where am I?" Nekozombie laughed. Doing so seemed to hurt him, and make him cough. "Isn't that just the question? For as long as this house has been around, no one, not even Gregory, could say for sure how it came to be. I figure if anyone did, they'd probably have the way out in the palm of their hands."

Tails felt a glimmer of hope. "I excel in figuring how things work." Nekozombie sighed, "So did Twilight."

Nekozombie told Tails how hard Twilight had fought. How much work she'd done to escape, only to have it all amount to losing everything. "Now she can't even think right. They got her soul when her guard was down. When she was trying to help me; that's when they got her. You still have a chance, they all do at first. Just remember this, if you ever escape Gregory House, you do it alone. You can't afford to care for anyone here, no matter what. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes, and if you can't handle being the bad guy from time to time, well, just look at Twilight."

Tails was a logical person. That said, he'd also experienced magic that bent time, machines that re-wrote reality, alternate dimensions, and a plethora of magic that he couldn't understand for the life of him. He could except that a place as twisted as Gregory House existed, and he could except that it had targeted him. But he couldn't wrap his mind around needing to be ruthless. Surely he could find a way to escape without spilling blood. Surely there was a machine he could build to save the day.

But the more Nekozombie told him about the House's dark past, about a man named Steven Haniwa, about a girl turned into a rat, about countless lives rotted, he couldn't help but wonder if he could even handle leaving his room again, knowing that such warped guests could be waiting for him.


	5. Night 5

_I saw the strangest creature I'd ever seen in my life. And the thing that made it all the stranger, was that I recognized it._

"Do you know, who I am? They call me Judgment Boy! Do you know, who I am? They call me Judgment Boy!"

Tails heard the chanting coming down the hall, occupied by a metallic clicking, like a train sliding down a rail.

Tails curiously opened his door and stepped into the hall to see who was chanting. "Do you know, who I am? They call me Judgment Boy! Do you know, who I am? They call me Judgment Boy!"

Tails looked to see what looked like a man chained to the ceiling. His face looked beaten, and his body was bent into a human scale; with lanterns carrying a dollar sign and a heart rather than weights. He glided through the hall on a mechanism that attached him to the ceiling.

"Do you know, who I am? I am Judgment Boy! Judgment!" He said, coming to a stop in front of Tails. Judgment Boy smiled down at Tails. "You are taking a test to join the royal army. You are asked the question: do the ends justify the means? What are you going to do?"

Tails didn't know what to make of what was happening. This figure in front of him looked like a something out of nightmare. And despite how surprised Tails was by its horrifying appearance, he got the feeling that he'd seen it somewhere before.

"What are you going to do?" Judgment Boy asked again. "I… say that the ends don't justify the means." Tails answered. Judgment Boy's grin widened, "So you say, but I say we consult the balance of truth!"

Judgment Boy began to spin like a top, the lanterns almost hitting Tails. "Judgment, now!" Judgment Boy stopped spinning. The glowing dollar sign dropped from the lantern, shattering on the floor. Judgment Boy, leaning to the side as he was weighed down by the heart that didn't drop, grinned at Tails.

"You tell them that the ends do not justify the means. And yet, when the time comes, you choose to kill an innocent girl for the sake of the greater good. You save the world, but her blood will forever be on your hands. It was your choice; you have to live with it."

Before Tails could say anything, Judgment Boy shot off down the hall, still chanting, "Do you know, who I am? They call me Judgment Boy! Do you know, who I am? They call me Judgment Boy!"

"Oh my," Tails turned to see Gregory walking down the hall, "I can't believe you would do such a thing my friend. Still, I suppose, in the end, it had to be done." Gregory chuckles and continued off down the hall.

_Innocent… blood on my hands… they couldn't mean… _Tails' mind began to race as he tried to convince himself that it was just a coincidence; they couldn't actually know what he'd done… could they?

Tails shook his head. "This is madness." He said to himself. Then it hit him, _madness. _He knew where he'd seen Judgment Boy before.

Tails rushed through the halls to Twilight's room. After convincing her that he wasn't Gregory, Twilight let Tails inside. Tails looked across the nonsensical drawings spread out across the room. He recognized several as Nekozombie.

Then he found the one he knew he'd seen before. A crude drawing of Judgment Boy, the words 'love or money, he always wins' scribbled on it.

It made sense that Twilight would have encountered the human scale before. But he looked around her room, Tails saw several drawings of other nightmarish creatures, all of whom he was obliged to assume were guests at Gregory House.

Tails was in a house full of monsters. And they knew his secrets.


	6. Night 6

_This place was full of monsters to begin with, but now they're after me specifically._

Tails creped quietly through the halls. He didn't try flight, fearing that the noise would alert another of the guests to his presence.

All he had to do was make it to the front door, get outside, and find the X Tornado. Tails would be able to repair it at least to the point that he could make it home. After that, he'd let G.U.N and Sonic know about this place.

But he had to be quiet. If another guest stopped him, he might not make it out of Gregory House at all.

He reached the stairs. He'd have to risk flying down because he knew from what Twilight had told him that each one would either squeak loudly or causing him to fall down the rest. Tails gently drifted down, moving his tails as slowly as possible to keep from making too much noise.

When he reached the floor, the old boards groaned. Tails froze and waited. When nothing happened, Tails continued on. Tails turned the corner and was immediately face to face with another guest.

He looked human, but his stomach was extended beyond the point that a human body could go. His neck was lined with what looked like gills that dripped trickles of slime. The most disturbing part feature was the oversized cigar. It was about the length of Tails' arm, and was jutting out of the man's throat.

"Who exactly are you?" He asked. His eyes were bulbous, and looking directly at them made Tails feel sick. "I-I'm Miles Prower, but people call me Tails." Tails said instinctually. Then, remembering what Twilight had told him, tried to hurry past the fish man.

Before he could, a large dead fish roughly four feet long dropped in front of him, blocking his path. Tails looked to see that the fish man was wielding the dead fish by its tail, as though it were a weapon. Tails could see the words 'Sweet Dreams' written on the dead fish.

"Look here, Miles Prower, your showin' an awful lot of disrespect for Big Tuna," The fish man, Big Tuna, said, "Don't you know who I am?" "No." Tails answered simply, trying to think of a way around him. He could always fly over him, but then he might get hit with the dead fish.

"What!? You tellin' me you never heard of Big Tuna?! I'm the most powerful crime boss around! You know why it says 'Sweet Dreams' on my fish here?" Big Tuna asked. Tails shook his head no, stalling for time.

"Because when I hit you with it, you'll find yourself sleepin' with the fishes!" Big Tuna explained, raising his weapon.

Tails saw his opportunity. He whirred his tails as fast as he could and rocketed under Big Tuna, tripping him up as he did so. Big Tuna landed on his face as Tails shot down the hall. Behind him Tails could hear Big Tuna. "You just made a big mistake bub! Big Tuna's got eyes everywhere! I'm calling a hit on you, you hear me? Your dead!"

Tails ignored the fish man's threats; he had to focus on getting to the door.

Unfortunately, when he got to the door, there was someone waiting. Tails had to struggle to avoid the brown cloaked figure leaning against the front door. He came to a stop five feet away.

"Aw, so you have arrived. At least you have the courage to face me like a man!" The man through off his cloaking, revealing skin that was green and prickled like a cactus.

_Cactus Gunman, _Tails thought, remembering what Twilight had told him. _"I'm not sure if he's a good or bad shooter, but he's always deadly with a gun."_

Tails gulped as the Cactus Gunman drew his hand gun and aimed it at him. "Wh-what's this all about?" Tails questioned. Twilight had explained that, though the Cactus Gunman was just as mad as the others, he never drew on someone without a reason. The reasons didn't always make sense, but if you knew why he was after you, you could turn him on someone else.

"I'm surprised you don't know amigo, there's a bounty on you. Big Tuna's offering one million dollars to whoever brings him your head." Cactus Gunman explained. Tails gasped, _That was just a few minutes ago, he couldn't have spread it that fast, it doesn't make any sense!_

"_Get used to things not making sense." _Twilight had warned him, but he'd expected there to be a certain element of logic to it all. As Tails starred down the barrel of Cactus Gunman's pistol, he saw the mistake in thinking this.

"So hows this going to be? Are you going to surrender? Or do we duel?" The Cactus Gunman asked. Tails put his hands up in a sign of surrender, only to jettison himself into the air the moment Cactus Gunman lowered his gun.

In the air, Tails was easily able to avoid the Gunman's shots, but he couldn't get to the door. Regretfully, Tails flew back to his room as quickly as possible.

On his way back, he saw several posters hung all throughout the halls of Gregory House. It had a picture of Tails' face, and a caption that read: **Dead or Alive, $100,000,000.**

Big Tuna really had called a hit on him. Tails had thought he could escape so long as no one was paying attention to him. But now everyone would be watching him.


	7. Night 7

_I fear I may be losing my mind. I know that the guests of this house are out to get me, but could my past be haunting me as well?_

Tails crept quietly through the hall. He'd spent the last few hours with Twilight. She'd been helping him memorize the guests and their powers so he would know who to look out for; that is, when she could keep her broken mind focused.

Tails felt more confident now that he knew more about the guests, but he still didn't want to have to face one if he didn't have to.

As Tails walked down the hall, he heard footsteps behind him echoing his. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be chasing him, it was walking at the same pace as he was. He tensed and increased his pace, not wanting to accidentally provoke whatever guest was trailing him.

Tails paused instinctively when he heard the footsteps increase to match his. When he stopped, the guest stopped as well. Tails could hear them start walking again when he did.

All at once, Tails took off running. The ceiling was too low for flight, but he ran as fast as he could, trying to get back to his room before the guest caught up to him.

He rounded corners, dodged passed Gregory, and finally reached the door to his room. Only when the door was open and he was half-way inside did he cast a glance back to see which guest had been following him.

He froze solid when he saw the emerald green hair. The flowing flower-like dress. The endless blue eyes that he could stare into forever.

_Cosmo._

Tails didn't even close the door, just ran towards her. He didn't know why she was there, how she was there, and he couldn't say he really cared. Cosmo was there.

But she turned the corner. She ran, just as Tails had moments before. "Cosmo wait!" Tails called after her. He could hear her, she sounded like she was crying. _Is it because I ran from her? _"Cosmo please stop! I didn't know!" Tails cried out, trying desperately to catch up to his love.

But she was moving too fast. She was down the stairs and around the corner. Tails couldn't keep up. "Wait!" Tails pleaded, nearly in tears.

To his relief, Cosmo did stop. She stood at the end of the hallway, as though waiting for Tails. His chest was heaving, but he didn't care, he kept running. The hall seemed longer than it had before, but that didn't matter either. Cosmo was there, that's what mattered.

Tails couldn't have said if it took him two minutes or two hours to reach the end of the hall. All he knew for certain was that when he did, he was all but sobbing with happiness.

He collapsed in front of Cosmo, his legs having given out. "Cosmo, how-how are you here?" Tails asked. When no answer came, Tails looked up. A jolt of nightmarish dread cut through the fox as he looked up at an empty hallway, with nothing in front of him but a potted rose on a shelf.

The flower looked dry and dead, and the sight of it made Tails sick.

"Oh my, what's wrong my friend?" Gregory's voice asked. Tails flinched at the voice. "I-I thought I saw…" Was all Tails could get out before he began sobbing.

"Oh don't fret my friend, it was just some kind of illusion. Ah, here's the culprit." Gregory said, gesturing with his candle to the dead rose. "You know, when a rose dies, it gives people nightmares. I'll just destroy it for you."

Gregory brought his candle to the flower. The flames caught and burned the rose up in mere seconds. "There, I'm sure everything will be fine now. It really is a shame when something beautiful has to be destroyed, but sometimes, it's for the best. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that." Gregory chuckled, walking off and leaving Tails to wonder what he meant.


	8. Night 8

_I should have just kept going, but there didn't seem to be any harm. It's not a mistake I'll make a second time._

Tails had heard from Twilight that the one called Clock Master was harmless.

"_He may well have been as dangerous a guessed as all the others at some point," Twilight had said, "but now he's little more than a drunk. He even tries to be helpful. Not that there's much he can do."_

It was this information that led Tails to seek out the ruler of time at the bar. _Even if there isn't much he can do, every alley helps, _Tails thought.

Inside the bar, Tails saw Gregory behind the counter. He saw what he could only assume were goons from Big Tuna, based on their fish-like appearance. _I'll have to be careful, not that I wouldn't have otherwise._

Tails knew that trying to rush in and out as fast as possible would only serve to get him unwanted attention, so he forced himself to enter the bar slowly and carefully; as though he were just there for a drink.

He paused when he saw Clock Master. Sure, he'd seen pictures of him from Twilight, but to see him in person was something else.

A living clock, with the power to control time.

Tails took a seat across from Clock Master. "Eh? Who... oh, you're the new (hic) guest." Clock Master said. "Yes, my name is Miles Prower, people call me Tails, and I was wondering if you could help me." Tails stated, keeping his voice low.

"I'm afraid I'm no help to anyone anymore." Clock Master said ruefully. "Please, I'm desperate. Even if your powers aren't working properly-" This was as far as Tails got before Clock Master let out a sob.

"I used to be the ruler of time! Now look at me! Nothing more than a drunkard with too many warps to work with!" Clock Master cried out sorrowfully. _Warps, maybe…_

"Clock Master, I'm good with machines. I'm not altogether sure how you work, but maybe I could try and fix your warps." Tails said. Clock Master stooped sobbing and looked at Tails in shock. "You think you can fix my warps? Bring back my powers? Make me the ruler of time again?"

"Maybe. I can't promise anything, I've never worked on a living machine before. There was Metal Sonic, but he was a robot. You're more… organic. But if nothing else I might be able to help." Tails explained.

Clock Master stood excitedly, "Well what are we waiting for? Time is of the essence!"

* * *

><p>Tails still had a few of his tools with him. He kept them hidden under his bed for fear of Gregory or one of the other's taking them away. He had Clock Master sit in a chair while he examined him. it was strange work, dealing with principles alien to Tails. And he loved.<p>

He knew full well how dangerous it was, but the opportunity to work on a living machine made Tails grin even with all the danger that came with it.

He went to work. Much like he always did when working on the X Tornado, Tails fell into a sort of working trance. It could've been hours or minutes and he wouldn't have known.

"So how do you feel?" Tails asked when he though he had all the warps smoothed out and all the gears realigned. "Better than I have in quite a long time!" Clock Master announced. "I bet I could go back farther now then I could've even before I became a drunkard. Let's test it shall we? Wind me up."

Tails, eager to see if his repairs had worked, began winding Clock Master's key. When the key wouldn't turn anymore, he let it go. And the world began to spin.

* * *

><p><em>Where… where am I? How far back did Clock Master send me? <em>"Oh no, dear boy, you have to believe me, I didn't mean to bring you here." Clock Master said from the corner of the ship. _Ship?_

Tails looked around. He was indeed on a ship, drifting through space. This was the ship he's been on with Cosmo. Did that mean… could it be that she was still alive?

"Tails, you have to fire." Tails looked up at the scene before him, and the color drained from his face. The Meterex. Cosmo was holding him down, urging Tails to shoot. _But I won't, not this time. _Tails thought relieved, _I can bring her back._

But even as he thought it, his hands moved to fire. He tried to pull them back, but he wasn't in control. He fired, destroying the Meterex. And killing Cosmo. Again.

Tails broke down crying. It was the same thing he'd done the first time around. "I'm so sorry, I didn't want to send you here." Clock Master said desperately.

Tails looked up at the Clock Master, his sorrow turning to rage. He'd planned this. Twilight was wrong, he was working with Gregory, same as the others!

"Please, I didn't want this!" Clock Master begged as Tails tackled him, yanking at his key. Tails picked up his tools and began unscrewing, scratching, and breaking.

When he looked up, he was back in his room at Gregory House, and Clock Master was broken again. The former ruler of time ran from Tails' room in fear.

Tails looked at his hands, seeing his tool, the damage he'd just done to Clock Master. He couldn't trust anyone.


End file.
